Short hops and hard knocks with Red Sox beat writer Ian Browne.

Game 3 of the ALDS

Big Sunday here at Fenway, with the Red Sox in a win or go home scenario.

Not much else to say at this point. Will the bats wake up? If not, the playoffs will be over before they started.

In other news, Dice-K has been keeping himself ready in relief if needed, particularly with Lester a lock for Game 4.

“Well, what we’ve done is he’s gone out and long tossed early and we told him that we’re not going to bring him in in the middle of an inning, bases loaded,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “That’s not in his best interest. I’m sure he has some anxiety about that, but we’ve re-assured him, ‘hey, if we use you, it will be clean innings’, things like that.

“The biggest thing and, again, we were pretty open about what we wanted to do in this series. We wanted to use Lester [in Game 4]. But again, we wanted to protect ourselves in case Lester had a ball off his leg or a long outing. And we told Dice that going in. He knew kind of what to expect. What it does, it does a couple of things aside from him pitching. It frees us up to use some other guys because he’s sitting there maybe behind somebody with a lot of length.”

As for the schedule, which included a 7:43 a.m. ET landing in Boston on Saturday and a noon game Sunday, Francona basically said it is what it is.

“It’s part of the postseason. Thankfully, we’ve kind of become accustomed to it.” Francona said. “Life is crazy. If you’re fortunate enough to get all the way through the World Series, by the time you’re done, there’s no time schedule. The one thing I think we did learn, and we’re so routine oriented, is you have no routine in the postseason. If you understand that, you move on. I was thinking about that getting on the plane the other night. There were all these people getting on that I didn’t know. We’re such creatures of habit. You get on, you claim your own territory and spread out, we all have our thing. It was like, who are these people. That’s just the way it is. It’s not bad, it’s just different. If you can accept it, it helps. And we’ve been through it a lot, so just get used to it.”

I’m not sure what the Red Sox/Francona’s thinking is with Dice-K. Personally I like the idea of Buchholz pitching today. If the Red Sox win today, they’ll have Lester on three days rest. I would have Dice-K pitch tomorrow night not Lester. Then again if the Red Sox lose, Lester will be pitching on roughly 150 days rest. lol.

There is no need to second guess Francona. He is the manager. We have to live with it whether he is a genius or an idiot. Francona is in no win situation. If Dice-K starts and bombs, what would you? Should have started Buchholz? Right?
What Francona should do is keep a close eye on Buch. If he is hit hard even without giving up runs, yank him. In my book, Francona made two errors in the first two games by using Saito to put out the fire created by Ramirez and by staying too long with Beckett. The errors were harmless because the bats went to sleep and never wake up.

Dave Henderson with the first pitch today. 23 years ago tomorrow he hit that memorable H.R. off of the late Donnie Moore. Also don’t forget about that H.R. Henderson hit in game 6 of the 1986 W.S.—of course some minutes later something else happened…Something about a little roller up along first….Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. LOL!!

The 2 games Kazmir pitched against the Sox Francona pulled JD Drew from line-up. So this is first time he faces him this year. This is a strange decision. Baldelli injury now comes into a factor. He did hit a HR off Kazmir this season.

Hi All! Ready for some great baseball today? It is a beautiful day in Boston – PERFECT for a Red Sox win!!!! Watching the NESE pregame right now – GO RED SOX!!! I really hope that Clay is up for the challenge and we FOUND our bats when we returned to Boston!!!

Hey all, funny thing is that this is the first day I have sort of a positive feeling, maybe its the finality of it all. Anyway, its just baseball, I am going to enjoy it whatever the outcome — if win win, we look forward to tomorrow — if we lose, I am immediately going to start rooting for the Angles to knock off the Yankees (most likely)!

For those who remember the heroics of Dave Henderson in 1986, he was on the NESN pregrame show today, and claimed he never ever got nervous, because he always understood that baseball was just a game, and therefore he always went out to just play the game, never stressed over it, and that apparently kept him lose. Too bad, that did rub off on Billy Buckner, LOL!

I agree with Francona, no need for a speech/team meeting. This team has a good mix of veterans, they have been in this situation before.

I said the other day on here, I think Buchholz is the type of pitcher that rises to the occasion. He pitched his best when he was matched against some other team’s ace’s. This is a situation that Buchholz needs to embrace.

If had to contrast the seasons of the Yanks and the SOX so far to-date — I would say “baseball contagion”. The Yanks had their leader (Jeter) have a career year (even for him) all year long – consistent, productive, as good as it gets, even for him, and all year. The rest of the players, all see that, and say, hey I can do that to some degree– and all them, even players like A-Rod , suddenly are shedding their past demons. The strong example of one (especially their leader) inspires the whole team (even when they don’t realize it themselves), and they all catch that example and elevate their game.

Unfortunately it works in revers too. I am not sure the Red Sox have a leader this year, and if you had to pick one, you would have to say it has to be Ortiz or Varitek. Both had bad years, one the worst and prolonged slumps in Ortiz career possibly, the other (Varitek) replaced by a trade because of his lack of offense. Not very inspiring.

Even with Ortiz’s second half, he only had one walk-off hit, and not very memorable clutch hits. Clutch hits yes, but hits that we keep talking about, can’t think of one this year).

So the Sox have had no inspiring example other than perseverance, which hopefully will yield its reward yet — but the fact is, that offensively the two leaders of the SOX have had very poor offensive years, and I believe that has “at least” subtely de-inspired the rest of the team, slumps and streaks, became accepted patterns for 2009, and copied and reproduced by most of team resulting in the most streakiest and most unproductive offense in recent memory. But even with all that, they still scored the third most runs in the AL this year? So if they can get a roll, maybe we ride a “streak” just in the nick of time — but when the need for a super clutch hit comes, will it come, or will that be the pattern we can establish this year?

The point is the example at the top (or in leadership positions) seems to be very contagious in baseball, as it probably in most venues in life, and more influential than we realize. Of course any one and all players can refuse the negative examples, but apparently it seems very hard to do (in baseball)?

How else do you explain the very same players all (or most) having good years one year, and all being streaky and not so good some other year. I don’t think this effect is so profound when its any player who is on or off, but only when your leaders are on/off consistently for most of the season. It accentuates the net gain/loss of the tendency more than just their individual contribution, it seems to seep into the performance of the whole team, make them disproportionately better or worse than the play of that one individual leader.

dgn – You probably make a valid point about the lack of a leader, inspirational or otherwise, for the Sox this year. That is graphically illustrated by the the fact that the guy wearing the “C” is riding the bench, and likely will not be back next year. However, I’m not sure that is a real problem. The Sox have a nice mix of veterans and young players, and even the young players now have some time behind them. The guys you have seen speaking most out of the clubhouse this year are Jason Bay and Mike Lowell. Both of them are pretty savvy guys and lead more by how they play the game than anything else. That’s not a bad thing.

The Sox rolled the dice on Penny and Smoltz, and lost. Dice-K was expected to be huge and was a non-factor. Lowell’s hip has continued to be a problem, and Drew has been fairly unreliable. Lowrie’s wrist put him on the shelf, and defensively, shortstop was a disaster until Gonzo arrived. They had to recall Buchholz, who did pretty well, and dig Paul Byrd out of the graveyard to keep the rotation afloat. Francona has had a lot to deal with and all things considered, 95 wins is a pretty good result.

I was almost looking at this year as a transition year. I still expected them to be competitive but three huge factors, Ellsbury, Bard, and Buchholz have progressed magnificently. This bodes very well for the future. There’s not telling how good all three of those guys are going to be, especially Ellsbury.

It’s disappointing to see them down 0-2 in this series and will be more disappointing if they lose today. (Way to go Dustin). But I really like what I’m seeing and if they can find a catcher and let Martinez play first and Youk move to third next year……watch out!

I always wonder: what does the pitching coach say to the pitcher??? “Hey, don’t let these guys hit the ball so hard!!” Or “Throw a strike or I’ll kill ya.” The last quote was said to me by my catcher when I was a kid. It worked!

Ortiz needs to be patient up there. Swinging at the first pitch is not the way to go. What will Boston do with Ortiz??? Over 12 million coming his way next season. I think it’s time for him to go elsewhere but where? His trade value is low for sure.

At least Bucknor did not hose us behind the plate…
Kazmir probably learned that smug look from Maddon (Scioscia disciple), or Maddon looks for ones that look smug. Shields has the same look with the Rays.

Garry, hope you are right (on season long perspective) – I like your analysis better, but I do think the proliferation of streakiness or maybe I should say slumps is conspicuous on this year’s team over past — and was trying to explain that.

I always thought Drew could hit left handed hitting — I never liked taking him out all year against lefties, especially when Baldelli was not exactly ripping the cover off the ball. Maybe Tito’s strategy was to not let left handed pitching get into Drew’s head at all during the regular season, and send him into the post season unbiased. However, if Baldelli was not out, I am pretty sure Drew would be on the bench today, and we might have two fewer runs right now.

I’m going to continue working in the house here while the game is on.. at least I’ll have a really really spotless kitchen and dining area when I’m done, I wont see much opf the game, but… I’ll take one for the team!! lol
I;m sure we’ll see TCD put in an appearance here today, comehting snide and snarky will be the order of the day for him/her (we dont know if its a guy or a girl, do we??)… Anyway.. I’ll be back at next commercial break!

Only way I would want too see Dice-K in the game is if the starter Buchholz was knocked around early. He could give them multiple innings, play the long man. From this point on….Oki…Bard….Wagner….Papelbon!

Buchholz needs to focus on the guy that smoked one off of him. Vlad is slower than slow, no threat to run!

Farrell is known as a solid pitching coach, I don’t know about that. His pitchers don’t have a clue when it comes to holding guys on. Farrell should have been out to talk to Buchholz after the balk! Why did he wait???

Bases loaded, nobody out, Bard comes through under huge pressure. DGN: he’s one of the reasons to be excited about the future…… that was much better than three strikeouts …… he could come back for another inning.

Damon inks with the Yankees for 4 years and Boston picks Bard with that compensation pick, not bad! Pedro bolts and Boston takes Buchholz. Theo and the front office is the reason I have hope with this team every year.

I’m not sure which time you missed, Trixie. We had the bases loaded against us last inning, no outs, and escaped (after Buch left the game, Bard came in) with only one run scored against. Nice DP turned by Lowell and Dustin. GO SOX!

Yes, Brian, those were good moves by Theo & Co., and we have good reason to be excited about the future with moves of that sort. We do have to avoid the signings like LugNuts and Drew, though–let alone Loopy Lopez. Theo is a mixed bag, but when you win 2 WS titles this decade, you’re not doing too bad! GO SOX!

Daniel Bard was AMAZING!! My brother said “Bard is my homeboy!!” feel bad for me? Haha, but seriously, Danny B is just a great young pitcher with a LOAD of talent. And yes, Julia, that comment is just… LAME, and stupid. I never heard of Jon Heyman either, sorry!! The only sports station near me is ESPN, so I have no clue who it is. Hoping for a win today, win tomorrow and a WIN in LA!!
-Hollyhttp://irishsoxkid19.mlblogs.com

Well Greg, you never know what Wagner would have done, but I just think even though he walked Guerrero, he was throwing well and for the most part has been overpowering since he got here. Papelbon is better suited to start an inning. He is no longer the strikeout pither he was.

Heyman is a writer for Sports Illustrated and also SI.com (and a blog).. Been with them about 2.5-3 years.. Comment is very bad and horrible for some one with his exposure.. womder how SI is going to feel about that?? I;m sure someone will let them know!

Papelbon, one strike from an easy save, throws an 0=2 pitch right down the middle and the rest is history. Horrible play by Jason Bay in left field. This is awful. What a horrible way to end a season. Pap should have signed a multi-year deal last year. His stuff has been deteriorating and the Sox have Bard waiting in the wings.

Hate to say “I told ya so”, but back at the All-Star break I told you so. This team – MY team for over 50 years – turned itself into a pathetic bunch of nothing! The NY team walked all over them, they couldn’t win on the road, made Texas look like a decent club, took about three weeks to win one game and lock up the final playoff spot, got out played, out managed and beaten to a bloody pulp by a very good Angels club.

I think the Angels are ready to let history be history because they are showing a lot of heart. You can’t win on past performance. They put the Sox and us fans out of our misery this year. It seemed like this particular Red Sox team was just “hanging around” all year. They hit mediocre pitching OK but good pitching stopped them all year. This team rarely scored in more than 2 innings of a 9 inning game so when they did score it had to be more than one because you never knew if they’d score again in that game. I am normally very positive but this team wore me out. Next year you have to put Youk at 3rd, Martinez at first and find a catcher who can throw out some runners and hit over .250. Not sure about Ortiz…… Go Sox….

I felt bad for Beckett and Lester….they both went into the later innings feeling like they had to make perfect pitches in this series. You can’t pitch like that for 7 or 8 innings. This team left them both hanging in games 1 and 2.

Wow. The worst part? No one in that dugout even looked upset. They just got swept out of the division series and it didn’t look like it mattered any more or less than a preseason game.

This team suffered all year long from a business-men like approach: totally dispassionate, zero fire in the belly, cold, unable to play up to a situation that required intensity, never appearing affected by their own poor performance. Did they know about some baseball golden parachutes the rest of us don’t? It was a thorough displeasure watching them all year long.

Francona and the Red Sox had it where they wanted it, with Papelbon on the mound and a lead. Papelbon coughed it up but let’s be real here. Do any of you really believe Boston was going to beat the Angels even if Boston won today???? Also Francona sent the wrong message to Papelbon when he walked Hunter intentionally. Papelbon is a competitor and he wanted nothing to do with that but then again…Hunter probably would have jumped on a Papelbon fastball anyway.

The Red Sox had Kazmir on the ropes after Drew’s H.R. but they let the Angels hang around and the Angels chipped away at the lead.

This team reminds me of the 2005 Red Sox—got in the playoffs but obviously they were over-matched in the playoffs–just like they were in 2005—swept! The Angels are CLEARLY the better team.

Memo to Theo…..Please no more shopping at Walmart or Salvation Army. These so called “low risk” “high reward” signings haven’t gotten the job done. In my opinion….they are called—-high risk–low or no reward signings!!!

Yes, we should have been able to knock this game out, Brian, but we still were not showing the fire necessary to win the series, let alone the next game. It would indeed be nice if Theo were to avoid the Wal-Mart/ Salvation Army depots–that is not the strong suit of the Salvation Army, anyway. :/
I certainly, though, did not expect Pap to do an impression of Brad Lidge, though! :/
Fitting end is right, Arnie.

Thank heaven for the Patriots and Tom Brady. Tough game in Denver but the Pats should prevail. Also the Celtics will be starting soon, not that I am big basketball fan but the Celtics have a great shot at #18!

Well folks,
This was a fitting end to an indifferent season. Papelbon skated on thin ice all season but this time he fell through. At the worst possible time.
But it has been fun hanging out with you all.

More crushing and disappointing was that the 3 runs were scored after 2 outs and 2 strikes. Pap saved all earned runs in one game. Pap never gave up an earned in the postseasons.
Francona escaped by yanking Buchholz little late. What if Bard gave up a hit? Couldn’t Wagner finish the inning?
Abreu’s hit was the turning point. Abreu was the one that I feared most.
Let it be rude awakening for the front office and field management and the fans……….

I think most visitors to this site can agree, we have all (secretly or otherwise) had our doubts about this team since early July. Since then we have waited and hoped for signs of the 2007 spirit, but it just never happened. Towards the end of the season when they won 6 straight, we all thought, “well, maybe this is it”. But then they lost 3 straight to Toronto at Fenway, and even though the games were meaningless, to me they told the story of the second half of the season. They told the story of the 2009 Sox.

Great expectations. Flop.

Oh, well. Let’s get on with our lives, enjoy the rest of the playoffs (they’re more fun to watch when you don’t really care who wins or loses anymore–and folks, the Yankees are likely to win so just get used to it), and have a nice winter. I’m already looking forward to Feb 2010, when pitchers and catchers report.

One final thought. Hopefully Papelbon matured a little bit with his slice of humble pie today. You’re only as good as your last outing, so when you manage to win one small battle, refrain from all the arm-pumping and gesturing. Because there’s always a “next time”, and the next time you face that guy, he may just clobber one out of the park and you’ll look like an idiot. Take a lesson from Rivera. Do your best, and don’t act like a clown when you win, you won’t look like such a fool when you lose.

Hi all. I just wanted to say that I have enjoyed reading all the posts on Brownie Points this season and I contributed when I thought it was appropriate. A very disappointing end to an up and down season. As many of you have said, the Sox just didn’t seem to have any fire in the belly. I hope you all have a good off-season. I am gone for this year. Paul

It’s gonna be a long winter for Theo. A lot of work has to be finished. There must be a reason when the Sox couldn’t beat the teams they’re suppossed to beat. Too many issued to be addressed offseason, the LF, DH, 3B, bullpen (Saito, Wag will likely be gone) and most importantly will Pap be the same after this crushing defeat? Wish everyone have a nice winter!

Another season comes to an abrupt, but not surprising close. One player remains in the dugout, head in hands. The rest file out silently, glancing back at the scoreboard in stunned silence and disgust. Expectations of dancing around the League Championship trophy fade with the ballpark lights into a crisp Fall evening. The fans stand silently as the other team celebrates — even the popcorn and drink hawkers pause, knowing that the magic that is baseball has disappeared for now. We file out of the stadium with shrugs, hugs and handshakes in hopes that the offseason will not last as long as we think…. But enough about my son’s last Fall Ball league game! That 9th inning sucked today, didn’t it? Geez. Well, Pap? Gotta long winter ahead of you and a lot of time to think. This really was supposed to be a special season — or at least it shaped up that way. Where it went, I’m not sure. But when Smoltz couldn’t win in a Sox uni, I really had to wonder. The opening streak of Yankee beatings was one to behold, but we fattened up too much at the table and couldn’t produce afterwards. To those in the Fan Nation, kudos to you for the support of the team through thick and thin, up and down. To Theo, THIS off-season will be your toughest assignment. Make us proud. Even if it means saying “so long” to a popular veteran. Inject some life into the organization SOON! To the Sox, thanks for another year of entertainment and for giving it what you had, though I’m in agreement with some that the fire wasn’t stoked as it should have been. Please bring your “A” game next year. Make 2010 special. To all you foul-mouthed blowhard Yankee fans who seem to have nothing better to do than blog here, go to hell. And to my fellow-Nation-bloggers, it’s been quite a ride, even if I haven’t spent as much time with you. Keep the faith. The off-season might produce some surprises! Take care,

Well I couldn’t post at all during the 9th inning. Nothing would go through. It’s probably a good thing. It’s really a shame the season had to end like that. One strike from playing another day. I guess that one pretty much falls on the shoulders of Pap, but in fairness, the Sox didn’t hit worth diddly the whole series. It’s easy to point fingers at Pap, since he was the LAST culprit, but there was a lot that didn’t go right before that. It’s going to be a long off season, especially for him.

The Sox have a couple of holes to fill, but they have the foundation for a team that could be very good next year. The most promising thing for next year may be the return of Dice-K late this season. He looked pretty good. He was a different pitcher than what we’ve seen in the past. If he comes back strong next year, then you get to start with Lester, Beckett, Dice-K and Buchholz. That could be very, very good. I don’t think Lester has been as good as he’s going to be. He could easily become one of the top three pitchers in the game. I look forward to next year.

I’m going to take a couple of weeks off to think about the season. Then we can begin formulating our brilliant strategy for next year.

This team played with very little passion. They didn’t look like they were having fun. The Red Sox looked tired, worn out. Body language speaks volumes! This Red Sox season was very trying for most if not all of them. There will be changes as always, rumors….rumors….rumors….Some true and some false. I think sometimes the Red Sox off-season is more interesting than the Red Sox season itself. I think this off-season the Red Sox will be very active!

TCD, I am a Yankee fan and while I am enjoying the Red Flop’s misery and the nation getting dinged in the head by a high heater today, I must say that to come here and continue to post “HAHAHAHAHAHA” is rude, wrong and such a self serving act of immaturity that it is beyond reproach. I, as well as most Yankee fans would not appreciate your actions. I don’t ever see a lot of this behavior on our board. Usually their hate towards us is as least passive if not intelligible. Consider not showing your *****. at this moment.

Hey all.. I echo Garry regarding the last inning.. This MLB server crap is getting bad..
Well, I am severely disappointedm but what are you gonna do.. Someone said to keep an eye on Papelbon and not to let him near a bridge, right?? Well I’m calmer now, but had I seen him near a bridge right after the game?? I’D HAVE PUSHED HIM MYSELF!!! I know he was just the final straw.
Anyway, how many days til P’s and C’s??, haha!!
I want to thank you all, my second family, for putting up with all my BS this season (and to some for all the years of putting up with me).
Big thanks to Ian for being patient and putting up with ALL OF US!!!!
and regardless of the year end standings, THANK YOU TO THE REDSOX for being here another year and bring a full range of emotions with each and every game.
I LOVE THE REDSOX!!!!

Well said Ellen, on the bright side, as of tonight we still have six teams to root for!

I wonder how active this blog is during the off-season? I think with Damon being in his last year, that the Yanks will not re-sign him, and the Yanks will go after Bay (if anything just to drive his price up), but probably seriously as well. I can’t imagine Jason’s dad (who is a life-long Sox fan) being too happy about that — but I get the feeling he just wants to play ball, pretty neutral about who he plays for, so long as they are a contender (now that he has worked his way into that position).

I have to admit, I can’t imagine how difficult the GM and scouting job is. If you were hard nosed about winning (which you have to be) you would seriously consider parting with any of our players save a few for the right trade (which will probably keep many of our players here cause that is easier said than done). I started to name all the ones I would consider trading, and the list got too long. So reversing that, the players I would be very very unlikely to trade would be Youkolis, Elsbury, Pedroia, Lester, Bard, Martinez? — the rest (and I mean all the rest, including fan favorites like Papi, Lowell, Wake who we all love) I have to admit, I would entertain offers, and see if I could better my team.

Wakefield is going to play in Boston or retire. I seriously doubt Wakefield gets traded. I would say zero chance.

I think the interesting guy I would look into getting rid of is Josh Beckett. He’s a free agent after 2010—I wouldn’t sign him too a long term contract. Right now his trade value is high so that means you would get alot for him. I think Beckett is a solid front line starting pitcher but no way would I want him signed too a long term deal. He’s had too many issues regarding health—last year and towards the end of this season.

The Red Sox have some rather ugly contracts next season. Ortiz and Lowell top the list, not too mention Drew ( 2 more seasons at 14 million per season ) Also don’t foget about Lugo’s 9 million on the books next year. Yikes! The Red Sox are like the Yankees, they have the $$$$$$$$$$ too spend. Personally I’m not a fan of big name free agents. Handing out long term contracts…usually doesn’t work.

Adrian Gonzalez is a guy that Boston should target whenever Theo has his blue prints ready to go!

If I was the Red Sox Papelbon would scare me. Remember last year during game #7 vs T.B. he wasn’t available because he was fatigued. This year he couldn’t put away hitters, not only today did he struggle but that happened many times this year. He isn’t the same closer he was back in 2007. His fastball always seemed to explode as it approached home plate….not this year! There were several times this year he would jump ahead of hitters 0-2 or 1-2 but couldn’t put them away. It seemed every same for him was work and that wasn’t the case this season. I love the guys passion and his desire too win but this past year he didn’t scare many teams. He scared us the fan. lol. I would throw his name around during trade talk because you never know what a team will give you! There are many desperate g.m.’s in baseball. Not too mention all sorts of pressure on those guys.

Oridnarily, as I found last off-season, this blog is rather active. You can stick around to find out, esp. since the Sox will have their hands full this off-season.
We have several long-term contracts already on the books with our younger players. We’ll see how well that strategy plays out.
Jeff (Sox and Pinstripes) mentioned that he was ready to see the “Papi Era”end. So am I. That MIGHT free up space for Lowell to DH, IF he returns at all. I am not sure he will–he may decide his hip will not let him. We’ll see.

DGN, as Wake has had a year-to-year option to pitch with the Red Sox, he will not be traded. His only value (not just for the fans!) is to the Sox, or to no one. He will pitch for us, or (much more likely this time, because of his back) retire.
Unfortunately, GSJays, Brian is right. Lugo has one more year on the contract he signed with us. I think it is for $9 mil.

Bosox-I think Lugo’s contract is over, but you’re spot on about Ortiz and Lowell. Drew might be overpriced, but it could be worse-it could be what we’re hung with on Wells. Papelbon has to grow up and realize his fastball isn’t what it used to be-and develop other another pitch to make him more effective. The real problem with him is he’s already at $6.25 mill. and his results no longer justify the contract.

It will be an interesting off-season, most team revenue is down and I expect the contracts will be down as well. It might be baseball’s going back to the young mans game again, too many risks signing an older guy who might or might not have juiced.

Boston signed Lugo to a 4 yr. deal after the 2006 season. His contract expires after next season…2010.

A guy like Ellsbury is valuable because he has speed and he can turn singles into doubles and so on. Some season’s back when teams didn’t run…Ellsbury wouldn’t be as valuable but with H.R.’s down. Ellsbury is more than valuable to the Red Sox, not too mention his glove!

bosox-Wells isn’t even a nice player any more-average yes, nice-no and we still owe him 100 mill over the next 4 years. Thank you JP.
Sorry, you’re right about Lugo. In addition Lugo was given a $9 mill. vesting option for 2011, so it could be you’re on the hook for 2 years not one. I like Ellsbury too, would like him more if he develops a little pop.

I’m sure the Red Sox are hoping he doesn’t meet any requirements in that contract next year in St. Louis or where ever he ends up.

Personally I would prefer him to not too have more pop. I would like his avg. and his on base % up and that would translate into him creating more havoc on the basepaths. I’m guessing he doesn’t hit any more than 15 H.R. and that would be pushing it….more like 12 H.R.’s or so. He had 8 this season.

Boston may opt out of either of final 2 seasons if Drew:
spends 35 days on the disabled list in either 2009 or 2010 with injury related to pre-existing right shoulder condition, or
finishes 2009 or 2010 season on the disabled list and cannot play outfield the following season

Hey everyone,
Well, I for one am GLAD its over. Really I am because I’m tired of the Red Sox drama. I’m tired of no hitting and struggling pitching and giving up leads, etc. OK, I’m complaining. Personally, all things considered, it wasn’t a bad year. We made the post season…sort of and brought in some extra money to pay Lugo and that’s sad and important.
In addition, we also have a catcher and a shortstop for now and that’s good. 2010. I’m feeling it. That’s the year the Sox go back.
Dave…

Great Post Jim!!! You had me there!!To EVERYONE (except tcd of course)
Thank you, I had a blast again this year. To those of you who will be taking the winter off from here, be safe, be happy, be well and see you in the Spring!!!!
To the rest… see y’all in the morning!!!
Night!!!

Ian’s article said that A-Gonz’ option for next year is for $6 mil. While that may be a little high, esp. paired with LugNuts’ $9 mil, I’d be surprised if we’d find a better alternative, esp. one that is less cost-effective. It is possible that we will settle for Lowrie and a Minor-League backup, but I’d be surprised if we do. I suspect we’ll get A-Gonz re-signed.

Yanks up 4-1 in bottom of 9th — getting very close to only having 4 teams to root for now :) . You know MLB wants a LA Dodgers vs NY Yankees WS. Not enough folks will watch any of the other combo, especially a LAD vs LAA WS.

Take pride in the Red Sox…here’s why — are you listening TCD133?
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When I look at this blog and the quality, integrity and general class of people that incorporate this board, I have nothing to feel bad about. We are fully grown adults who accept and understand other people may not be Red Sox fans and that’s OK.
We don’t live in our parent’s attic, and while there is nothing wrong with that notion, it’s also nice to live in our own homes with families and children.
We don’t run to other boards and shout “HA, Ha” because we realize that childhood, while important, is also something that must be abandoned just like sippy cups and pullups at some point.
We don’t tout our ‘greatest’ ever and are willing to admit our team’s faults because that’s what mature and intelligent adults do.
We are Red Sox fans and care more about each other than the game score because we are also a family and yes we also have to love the little children of Long Island because we are adults.
2009 marks a year where I got to know each and every one of you all the better and am better for it. It’s a place where I can consult my daughter’s fraction problems and get help (she’s doing much better now…Thanks all!). It’s also a place where we can talk science and whatever is on everyone’s mind.
Finally, my wife is doing well and thanks again for all your support. You’re my extended family and I really do love ya all!
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tcd133, I know you’re celebrating but please don’t forget to take out the garbage. You know mommy puts you in those long time outs if you don’t!

tcd133 – perhaps you should listen to the “intelligent and mature” Yankee fans out there. In other words – why don’t you grow up! There comes a time when all little chicks have to leave the nest – I suspect your mommy feels that time is LONG overdue. And seriously – if you are as great of a fan as you pretend to be – then do your team proud and stop acting like a spoiled little brat. You do a great disservice to the “real” Yankee fans who visit this blog; they are always welcomed here. You? I’m with Dave – go take out the garbage.

Not anything we haven’t discussed here before – but it does make you wonder, is Papelbon’s role going to be changing? I know Wags had a tough outing yesterday, but I’d like to see him come back next season – after more time passes from his surgery I’d love to see what he can do.

This is going to be an interesting – and I suspect busy – off-season for the Red Sox. I can’t wait to see what happens!

And yes – the Patriots lose yesterday didn’t help things…but I did get a laugh out of Denver’s throw back uniforms. No wonder they only lasted two seasons!

To all Redsox fans who on the Radio here at WEEI that actually believed that this weak team would sweep the Angles…bahhhhhhhhhh
To all those who thought they would win the series………nice try……aren’t you glad Francona is such a great players manager right now?
One thing he did get right was getting Martinez because that infidel Varitek is washed up. You fans have become jaded and cocky just like the New York fans and now you will suffer for that.
Also anyone who thinks Pappelbon is in the same league as Rivera now you know why he is not. I am not saying he can’t be but he has a long way to go..and now he is the reason you all have to watch the Yankees start the domination that will continue for at least 3 more years, no pennant for Red Sox this year or in the near future….please continue to call the radio and hammer the manager and players to show how hypocritical you all are when you were all talking sweep just a week ago now you know the reality that this team was just a facade.

You know what I love – just how gracious of winners Yankees fans are! I can’t help but wonder what rocks they have been hiding under the last few seasons. You do know drdream (nightmare perhaps?) that you don’t represent “real” Yankee fans – right? Real fans acknowledge that people are allowed to be fans of other teams – and that is okay for them to believe as well. It is so funny – you low-life Yankee fans come out of the woodwork only when the Yankees win. Where were you in the beginning of the season when the Yankees weren’t playing so well? Red Sox fans (and true Yankee fans) were on this blog all season living all the ups and downs that the season brought. “Fans” like you? You are a disgrace to all real fans everywhere. Do us all a favor – if you have nothing constructive to add to the discussion stay on the Yankee blogs with your other little friends. This blog is for adults only.

Oh – and one other thing drdream – what does religion have to do with baseball? ‘That infidel Varitek” – you do know the definition of the work “infidel” don’t you? “A person who does not believe in religion” or in the Muslim world it is a person who is not a Muslim. So are you a Muslim and you are upset that our Captain is not a Muslim? Are you concerned for his soul? Well that is very kind of you. Who knew that Yankee fans cared so much about Jason Varitek! And if you aren’t a Muslim then again I ask – what does religion have to do with baseball? Oh wait – was this a case that you didn’t know what the word “infidel” meant? Then how rude of me to point out your ignorance. I do apologize. We Red Sox fans should be so much more understanding of our uneducated Yankee brethren. Please forgive me…..

You took the words right out of my mouth Jules!!! I saw that “infidel” statement and immediately was going to comment.. No time now, once i get settled in the office I’ll be back to comment on somew of these posts!!!! GO GET EM JULES!!! GIVE EM HELL!

Well guys,
The more I see Yankee fans like tcd133, who I’m sure looks so cute in a diaper by the way, the more I take pride in being a gracious Red Sox fan.
“Mom…where’s drdreamtheatre67. He was going to play with my dollies today!”
“He’s having the runs dear. He’ll be here soon!”
A pause. Tcd133 threw a temper tantrum and put on his Yankee underwear. He took pride in taking more than 10 minutes to soil it. Wiping was really hard for him.
“tcd…did you put out the garbage yet!”
“Do you know what a loser is mom! Someone who takes out the garbage. Take out your own garbage!”
Mother grabbed TCD and stuck him in the corner.
“I hate timouts. I hate them I hate them I hate them!”
A long pause.
“When you have the ability not to soil your underwear, you have the ability to be treated as an adult!”
“But I have a…!”
“Yes I know, Tcd, and milking the weed is NOT what I call mature behavior…and honestly, over the teletubbies. What do you see in Tinkie Winkie anyway?”
A long pause.
“I like his purse!”
His mom shouted, “don’t ask…don’t tell!”
A long pause.
drdream came in.
“Hey tcd, I just brought ovah my tinkie winkie doll. We can both play with ourselves and it!”
“Wait till I get out of timeout!”
A pause.
“OK, I’ll play with my blocks. I can count to 10. Those stupid Wed Sox wans. They are babies and I hate them.”
“You two are an poser for stupid. Please shut up while you’re ahead.”
“Mom is just jealous. That’s all.”
A pause.
“Ya well I say gay pwide!”
“Ya me too. Let’s put on dwesses and dance!”
“Ya like true Yankee fans!”
A long pause.
“Please tell me he was adopted, “said tcd’s mom. “It hurts less that way.

>>>>>>>>> Science Question Of The Day >>>>>>>>>
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Anyway, back to normal. tcd — you have some class after all. Now can you answer a science question.
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According to Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity, what happens to time as we speed things up?

tcd – how about if you are going to insult Blue Jay fans, you first learn to spell. It is “oh” not “O” and you wanted the contraction “you’re” (meaning “you are”) and not “your”. And “What business does a Blue Jays fan have on Sox blog?” I would say a hell-of a lot more business then you do. Fans of all teams are welcomed here. What’s your excuse for being here since you are neither a fan of the Red Sox nor a fan of the game? And have no fear – Dave can always to be counted on to create something to entertain the children.

gsjays – you are right. I should be prayer for tcd – I will take care of that oversight right away. And Happy Thanksgiving to you and all our friends north of the border! I hope you have a great day!

TCD-It’s a fact that people who display such strong hero worship for a sports team or particular athlete on a team like you do for the Yanks is suffering from a form of Psychosis. You lose touch with reality, probably because your reality isn’t very nice and instead the Yanks and players on the team become your life. As you continually fail to achieve anything in your own life, you put yourself into the Yankee reality instead of your own to escape.
You dream about spending time with A-rod, Jeter and others and sometimes I’m sure you feel you’re actually on the team. You have nothing to brag about in your own life, so you brag about the Yanks as a replacement and escape mechanism.

It’s also known that the stronger the attempt to escape is, the worse your personal reality is. Generally speaking, the root cause for this disease is abusive behavior of a parent toward you. I’m sorry that your Dad made you do those things he made you do son, but it’s time to get some help and get over it.

The reason I said a prayer for you this morning and suggest others do as well, is your behavior here in the last day or so in which you take great joy in other’s misery is a tell tale sign of personal depression. The more you aggressively attack these Boston fans at a time you perceive they’re down and slightly depressed, the more depressed you are.
Since your posts this morning look like it’s now an obsession, I’d suggest you’re deteriorating very quickly. It’s probably as a result of the realities of your Psychosis hitting home and you want to abuse others like you were abused as a child.
Someone has to pay for the abuse you took and since you’re in the Yankee fantasy it might as well be Boston fans.It must be really tough being you………………..

The good news is these diseases can be treated with medication and counseling and although it won’t be an easy time for you to make it back, it can be done.
So I suggest you see your Doctor right away because if the Yanks get knocked out of the playoffs or lose the series, you might not be able to handle it.

OK…here’s what happens.
When things speed up (like driving a car), time actually SLOWS down. The drop in time is NOT something we notice since our time instruments are not accurate enough to catch the difference. However, as we approach the speed of light, we see time REALLY slow down to the point where it is a dramatic departure from measured time. IN other words, time is NOT a constant but varies depending on the speed you are going at.
This means that if you could travel the speed of light, you would measure time very differently than someone beside you at rest. You could travel a short period of time at light speed and stop and then see your neighbor had aged twenty years. If we all traveled the speed of light we would notice the affect more readily.
This comes about because light travels at a constant speed. If you turn a flashlight on in a speeding plane, that light travels at 3E8 meters/second. If you are at rest, light travels at 3 E 8 (or 3 plus 8 zeros) meters/second. This means that light is our clock for time. Cool stuff.

I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I have gotten older, more mature…whatever. I am a Yankee fan. A proud Yankee fan, as big as they come. To be honest, I don’t consider the Red Sox very much anymore, unless we are playing them. I do come in here from time to time to check out what you all are saying, but I almost never contribute. I can honestly say that as I have gotten older, the constant taunting has gotten old. I just don’t see any point to it. Sure some good natured ribbing is very healthy amongst fans. But it has come to a point where it gets personal and stupid and it’s got to stop somehow. We have them on both sides. The ones who incite. The ones who try their very best to rile each other. For what? A baseball game. Look, I will not hide my abject displeasure for the Red Sox nor the city of Boston. Being that half of my family is from Worcester and the other half from Brooklyn, I have that right. I just will not feed into the whole rub your nose in crap mentality. Personally, I wish we had a chance to play you guys in the ALCS. The Angels are a much scarier bunch, and it is gratifying to beat the tar out of Boston every chance we get. However, that is not the case. Your season is over, ours continues. I guess what I am trying to say is that I think that some Yankee fans as well as some Red Sox fans (could be all fans, but for all intents and purposes we will stick to the two teams at hand in this raving diatribe) should take time to consider that nobody stays on top forever and when we fall, yeah it hurts a bit. Nobody wants to be kicked when they are down. I sure didn’t want it in ’04. Like I am sure you guys don’t want it now. So, have a good winter Red Sox fans. Hopefully I will have a great winter with #27 to look back on, but if not, the sun will rise the next day. See you all again in spring, where we will do it again, only this time, maybe we can be a little more civil. Not too much…just a little bit.

Julia,
Couldn’t you ask a SIMPLE question? That’s a REALLY complicated question that would take a LOT of time to answer.
I’ll defer to winkpedia.com which gives a really good explanation. That’s just way too much material for a small blog!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebular_hypothesis
Whew…have mercy on the old man!

tcd.. What is missing from your life that allows you to derive such perverse pleasure from kicking someone when they are down?? Its sort of like a wife/spouse beater. You know youve beaten us, we know youve beaten us, yet you still get the “high”. Look we stunk the 2nd half, we are all aware of that. Just let it go. We didn’t originally encite you, you came here to our blog. So just let it be.

Sorry Dave – I admit- my 15 year gave me the question! I think he wanted to show what he knew! lol!

Skull – I think you will find that we Red Sox fans here on Brownie Points are usually a very civil bunch. The vast majority of us have more years on us then we care to admit and are truly fans of the game. And we welcome everyone here and we enjoy the lively debate that comes about from our discussions. That being said – we welcome intelligent debate here – NOT the sort of garbage that several Yankee fans have decided to direct towards us. We regulars here (and the regulars are Red Sox, Yankee, and Blue Jays fans for the most part) have enjoyed a fun season at jovial give and take but we pride ourselves on never being cruel to fans of other teams – unless they cross the line. We have given fair warning to those who do nothing but come here to mock and to spread their venom. We will not stand for it. I have been a fan of the Red Sox and baseball for over 40 years and I have never in my life been as rude and obnoxious as these Yankees fans who have decided to park themselves on a Red Sox blog. If they feel the need to boast or to take perverse joy in the Red Sox losing, that is their right; but this is not the place to be doing it. They can go and find a Yankees Blog and bash the Red Sox to their hearts content. But no one may do that here and think that we will not comment. I am sorry – I have been a regular here all season and I can’t say that I have ever seen you comment here before today. Perhaps I am mistaken – and if I am I do apologize – but I think it is unfair for you to call on us to be more civil if you have not followed us here all season. Brownie Points is a very civil place – as long as you are; but be warned – no one may come here just for the purpose of spewing hate on the Red Sox and their fans.

What dooms the Sox in the ALDS was hitting and pitching. There were zero hitting the first 2 games and the hitting stopped after JD’s HR in the Game 3. People had said it again and again if Youk and Bay were in slump the team was finished. The team can afford to have either of them in slump but not both at the same time. And of course the DH…
Lester, Beckett, and Buchholz were excellent in the first 5 innings. When came the 6th or 7th inning, all of them started to unravel.
If Buchholz did not leave with bases loaded and none outs and finished the 6th inning with no run or even one run scored, the outcome MIGHT be different. Yesterday’s pitching lineup Buchholz, Bard, Wagner, and Pap was the way every Sox fan desired. But we all neglected and forgotten about Okajima who was effective in 07 and 08 playoffs and woefully came in one batter too late.
Would Dice-k make a difference? Nobody knows and we will never find out. We all agree if the Sox won yesterday, it was unlikely that Sox would win the next 2 games.
Seasonwide the complacency and the failure to address the issue when it first surfaced spelled disaster. False sense of security thinking by getting into the playoffs as a wc automatically translated into sucess. As many of the bloggers said there were no fire in the belly in the players to achieve a loftier goal of the division title when the opportunities presented themselves. This year the Sox didn’t have it to win it all but good enough not to be swept by the Angels.

Julia, Skull did say he “almost never contributes” when he checks on Brownie Points. Could be that that is why we’d not recognize him.
I would be careful, Skull, if you are a reader of this blog, to recognize who the regulars are on the blog, who usually are civil, and those Red Sox fans who troll on here to jab at the Yankees or at our own team. We take them on as aggressively as we do any other troll from any other team. I hope you would recognize the difference between them, and those of us who are regulars on this blog. If you are as regular a reader here as you say, I think you would recognize that fact.

Skul has been here before/ Acouple of years back. We never had any problem with him then, I don’t believe.
I used to read some of Hoch’s and Feinsands blogs and I had seen him there as well. He seems to be an intelligent and civil fan.
I think he was “gently” sending a warning to the Yankee fans that visit here as well. Seasons over now its time to root for the Rockies for Arnie, since thats where he is.. and for the ANGELS TO KICK SOME YANKEE A*S*S

Julia,
Since you put it that way, let’s break it down into its components.
Essentially, EVERYTHING stars as a clump of gaseous material. That’s the material from the big bang. That material exploded out from the big bang — like a water balloon but what came out was hydrogen and then finally helium.
Thanks to dark matter, that glob of hydrogen condensed around those heavy pockets of dark matter and compressed and formed discs of material. Hopefully that material squeezes down enough thanks to dark matter to form a proto star. Eventually that star will squeeze down enough to form a true star. Those stars make hydrogen to helium. As the star runs out of hydrogen it gets heavier and hotter. That helium, if the star is big enough will squeeze down enough and fuse to make lithium and then berilium and so on until carbon. If the star is big enough it will squeeze that down to make iron. Those are the mammoth stars.
If our star were the size of a pellet, the stars that fuse all the way to iron would be the size of a basketball. Once the star goes to iron the iron can’t fuse any higher. That star explodes, makes a black hole and sends material out including gold, etc.
That’s the life of a large star and where we get the gold, etc.
Now also some pockets of gas from that star form a nebula. Nebula’s that then make smaller stars are called emission nebulas. If a star forms in that cloud then there is the possibility of making planets.
Planets form from the iron core of the exploded star (or stars) and whatever gases left over form the outer planets. Jupiter, if it gathered enough material would have formed a sun and this would have been a binary (two) star system with the sun jupiter orbiting the main sun in the center of our galaxy.
I cut out a TON of material but that’s the basic idea.
In essence, a solar system forms from a nebula which is formed from an exploding star.
Note that some nebulas just form bok gobules which is just a bunch of star material unable to congeal into a star. Some form reflection nebulas because a star is near it and we can see it. The lucky ones form emission nebulas and it is there that astronomers look for planets.
The theory of nebulas forming discs that form solar systems is not entirely proven for ours but all the evidence points to it.
I know, not a great explanation but it’s hard to do it in one blog article. I still haven’t talked about gravity and how the planets form in the nebula or how gas planets form and so on.

Julia,
Since you put it that way, let’s break it down into its components.
Essentially, EVERYTHING stars as a clump of gaseous material. That’s the material from the big bang. That material exploded out from the big bang — like a water balloon but what came out was hydrogen and then finally helium.
Thanks to dark matter, that glob of hydrogen condensed around those heavy pockets of dark matter and compressed and formed discs of material. Hopefully that material squeezes down enough thanks to dark matter to form a proto star. Eventually that star will squeeze down enough to form a true star. Those stars make hydrogen to helium. As the star runs out of hydrogen it gets heavier and hotter. That helium, if the star is big enough will squeeze down enough and fuse to make lithium and then berilium and so on until carbon. If the star is big enough it will squeeze that down to make iron. Those are the mammoth stars.
If our star were the size of a pellet, the stars that fuse all the way to iron would be the size of a basketball. Once the star goes to iron the iron can’t fuse any higher. That star explodes, makes a black hole and sends material out including gold, etc.
That’s the life of a large star and where we get the gold, etc.
Now also some pockets of gas from that star form a nebula. Nebula’s that then make smaller stars are called emission nebulas. If a star forms in that cloud then there is the possibility of making planets.
Planets form from the iron core of the exploded star (or stars) and whatever gases left over form the outer planets. Jupiter, if it gathered enough material would have formed a sun and this would have been a binary (two) star system with the sun jupiter orbiting the main sun in the center of our galaxy.
I cut out a TON of material but that’s the basic idea.
In essence, a solar system forms from a nebula which is formed from an exploding star.
Note that some nebulas just form bok gobules which is just a bunch of star material unable to congeal into a star. Some form reflection nebulas because a star is near it and we can see it. The lucky ones form emission nebulas and it is there that astronomers look for planets.
The theory of nebulas forming discs that form solar systems is not entirely proven for ours but all the evidence points to it.
I know, not a great explanation but it’s hard to do it in one blog article. I still haven’t talked about gravity and how the planets form in the nebula or how gas planets form and so on.

Beautiful Dave! And I went with one of his easy questions! lol! Oceanography is really his area of expertise (he competes on his HS team) and I’m not ashamed to admit – I didn’t even understand the oceanography question he was asking, let alone the answer! lol! Mom will stick to “US History for $400 please….”

I am SO rooting for the Rockies!!! WHOO HOOO!! And can we do anything about getting the umps replaced? There was another bad call last night that might have cost the Rockies the game! This has got to end. Way, WAY to many mistakes. I think that is the challenge that Brownie Points needs to take on this off season – how can we solve the problem of really, really bad calls by umps? Everyone put those thinking caps on!

The worst umpire call has to go the Mauer’s ground rule double as a foul ball by the left field umpire. What did that umpire say after the game? The umpire was right on top of the play. I am in favor of instant replay for situation like that or questionable HR only, not on ball strike call.

As I look back through some of the posts, I see we have our token Yankee a–hole. That’s OK, let him say his piece. We rid ourselves of people like him by ignoring them. They are not worth our time. It has worked many times before, it will work again. Realistically, the Yankees were the better team this year. They deserve to be where they are.

It’s not so much that the Sox lost yesterday, it was how they lost. Two outs, two strikes and nobody on, with a two run lead. How can a pitcher the caliber of Papelbon not be able to get one more stinking out? Well, Yankees fans have been asking themselves that same question since the 2004 ALCS. I’ve said it dozens of times this year, sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you. There is no rhyme or reason, and no real explanation. Pap has been the backbone of the pen for years. There was no reason to believe anything but good was going to happen. I feel badly for him. It’s going to be a long winter. We could write and debate until spring training starts, but it won’t change, or explain anything. The Sox have had their ups and downs all year. This was a down. I think they gave it their best shot, and they didn’t leave anything on the table, but it just wasn’t destined to be. All things being equal, we had a lot more to cheer about this year than a lot of people did. So, let’s think about the future…….. and I think the future is very bright. More later.

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!
OK, more math headaches and in fairness, this time I blame the textbook. I don’t like the way they are approaching it.
She is being introduced to multiplication of fractions. My daughter really don’t grasp a subject until she fully understands it. She’s not the type to say “just tell me the steps and I’ll figure it out later.”
Anyway, she is taught that 1/3 of 20 is the same as 1/3 * 20 and then multiply. That doesn’t make sense to her and I see that because for a month she was taught (in addition that 1/3 meant 1 out of 3. Now we have 1/3 of 20 somehow becomes a multiplication. I have NO idea how to help her see that.
HELP!

Julia,
Oceanography is certainly an exciting field right now since we are exploring the bottom of the ocean and uncovering life forms we can’t even begin to describe and yet they live in areas of the world that seem impossible for us to understand. Your son is someone to be proud of Julia and the fact he exceeds the mom means that he exceeds the teacher — no teacher would want anything less than that.
Dave…
p.s. I know about .0000000000000002 about oceanography or cellular biology. Those seem SO complicated to me.

Dave- my 15year old son is typing up something that he feels will help you explain this – when he is done – I will put up a link to the image site where he is putting it on. In addition to a science geek, he is also really good at math and understands the new “math” that kids learn in school.

Well to my friends which I havent seen this month due to my crazy work schedule, I cant wait to start mulling over the seasons ups and downs… Of course yesterdays loss was tough but look at the positives this year… Papi slumps someone else steps up to carry the load that was the story of the Red Sox through all of 2009, The emergence of Ellsbury (the boy gotta be part gazelle) We finally got to see the real JD Drew, the heart of Mike Lowell & Tim Wakefield… Jay Bay (Theo if you read this sign the guy for whatever) how can you put a price tag on his leadership… Youk and Pedrioa were solid, and the Gonzo & Martinez additions were a real shot in the arm… Varitek though a sentimental puzzle piece I’m sure he even knows its time to become a bullpen coach somewhere…Julia I read your blog and Im soooooo sorry you had to go through that… Ellen and the rest of you I’m glad we had some great chats… Hoping to see you all over the winter to chat and dream of next year… Tom

Julia,
I have learned really quickly that while I know the math, it becomes really hard to help someone understand something that is now obvious to you. It’s amazing how much more you learn about anything by trying to teach someone something that you take for granted.

You’re welcome Dave! My son asked if you could let me know if what he did made sense and if it was at all helpful.

What I found hard about helping my boys with math is the “new math” concepts – they learn to think differently about it then I did. Good luck! And yes – I am very proud of him. Both my boys love to learn – and what more could a mom ask for!

Dave!!!
I’m here to help you with your fractions! It’s lucky for you that I juat happened to check this site to see how everyone’s mood is.
Let’s use a baseball anagoly as an example. 1/3 is the same as a hitter going one for three. He would be batting .333. Now let’s pretend…… oh,,,, Julio Lugo, for example, was batting .333 but he has only been to the plate 20 times. How many hits do you suppose he had? The answer would be: 6.66 hits, which is the same as 6 and 2/3. Or, almost the same. One quickly realises that even Julio Lugo in all his glory could not get 2/3 of a hit,,,,,,so we would have to extrapolate and imagine that he had been playing for a long time and had been to the plate 2,000 times. And by a miracle (milagro) he got 666 hits!!! No way Julio could do that, but anyway let’s say he did. Another thing to do would be to turn 20 into a fraction……let us say 20 over 1,,,,, and then turn one third into a fraction,,,,,,maybe 1 over 3 and then cross multiply. Multiply the 20 by the three and then multiply the 1 by the 1 and there’s your answer. Wait… what was the question again????
HEY, if it were me I would divide 20 by 3 and be done with it.

The Sox need a little tweaking and they will be good as gold. A big bat or 2. Preferably one who can play 3rd base. Keep Youk at first and let Mikey DH. Maybe a front line starter. One or 2 bullpen arms to replace MDC and Saito. Maybe keep Pap for one more year while grooming Bard.

2009 was a trying year for the Sox, they had a lot to overcome both in the clubhouse and on the field. They just did not have the hitting to get by their opponents. They gave it all they had, but they were beat down in the end. They will be back strong next year.

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